12 iOS Games You Can't Wait to Play

Most of the time, new iPhone and iPad games seem to appear out of thin air -- suddenly up for sale in the App Store without any sort of lengthy promotional campaign. But when we're lucky, we hear about exciting releases weeks or months in advance; and as Apple's devices continue to surge in popularity, that's becoming more and more common. Case in point: here are a dozen upcoming iOS games that we're really looking forward to playing, and while they vary in size, scope, and subject, all caught our eye and may well catch yours too.

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iOS Games You Can't Wait to Play

Unlike the last two entries, which primarily introduced cosmetic changes, Angry Birds Space is the first true reinvention of the classic fowl-flinging formula, as the shift to outer space introduces round stages and the influence of gravitational pull. Set to launch next week, Rovio's latest will ship with 60 stages, with more free and premium content coming down the line.

We got our first glimpse at Gasketball at GDC last week, and this same-screen multiplayer hoops affair from the creators of stylish iOS hit Solipskier seems like a blast. Shooting for different baskets, you'll try to score the most points while avoiding (or aiming for) your foe's own shots, plus you can create unique stages on the fly for a challenging take on H.O.R.S.E.

As seen at the new iPad press conference, Infinity Blade Dungeons puts a new spin on the iOS hack-and-slash franchise, shifting the action from one-on-one duels to Diablo-style skirmishes against masses of enemies. It's viewed from an overhead perspective, and we'll find out later this year whether the shift in style holds onto the series' winning formula.

Ridiculous Fishing is the long-in-the-works successor to to Flash hit Radical Fishing, and it lets you tilt the iPad or iPhone to guide a line into the water before pulling up as many fish as possible -- and then blasting them out of the sky with your firearm of choice. Weird and wonderful, this anticipated indie comes from the makers of Super Crate Box.

Angry Birds isn't the only iOS franchise taking to the stars, as evidenced by Flight Control Rocket, a cartoonish new spin-off of Firemint's excellent path-drawing game. Launching this month, Rocket finds you guiding waves of colorful ships to the proper landing spots on a large battleship, with optional (likely premium) bots available to help you out.

Total War Battles: Shogun adapts the popular Total War real-time strategy PC series for iPad and iPhone, letting you spawn units and dominate the battlefield via simple touch commands. Based on what we've played, Shogun looks incredibly well-made and includes more than 10 hours of core single-player content, plus a unique same-screen multiplayer battle mode.

As in Flower, the PlayStation 3 stunner, On the Wind finds you commanding the breeze and collecting leaves, this time in a side-scrolling setting where one touch guides the wind around obstacles. The fantastic art style pairs well with a unique twist on the formula: having to survive each season of the year across a brief play session.

Released on consoles last fall, Burnout Crash is coming to iOS with new swipe-based controls that let you control the on-screen chaos. Spun off from the Burnout racing series, Crash finds you creating massive pile-ups by directing cars into traffic and setting off explosions and other special abilities in the world. It's light, goofy fun that should work well in the App Store setting.

Faraway has been on the horizon for some time, but we're hoping this intriguing indie touches down shortly. In the game, you guide a shooting star around the galaxy, attempting to weave elaborate constellations around fixed stars to earn big points and keep pulsing ahead. We had a blast with a demo version last fall, and expect it to be quite excellent on iOS.

Hailing from Canabalt creator Semi Secret Software, Hundreds is a stylish original puzzler that seems like a perfect fit for the iPad (in particular), based on our hands-on at GDC last week. You'll tap to expand the tiny circles in each stage, attempting to reach a total of 100 to pass the stage without letting actively changing circles touch each other in the process.

Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy is the modern-day follow-up to last year's World War I-set Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory, putting you into the cockpit of soaring jets as you attempt to shoot down waves of airborne foes. Set to launch this month, Air Supremacy is optimized for the new iPad, which lets you battle intensely large enemy squadrons with ease.

Sega's Alexandria Bloodshow is the follow-up to last year's free-to-play Samurai Bloodshow, letting you duke it out as the ancient Egyptians or Greeks by placing cards on the battlefield. Using warriors, catapults, traps, and more, you'll fight against the computer or online/local opponents, with the ability to buy additional cards via in-app purchases as desired.